Page 24 - Flathead Beacon // 3.30.16

LIKE I WAS SAYING 26 AMERICAN RURAL 26 DRAWING BOARD 27 Viewpoints
LETTERS
Transferring Ownership of America’s Public Lands a Bad Idea
In a recent interview with Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle asked him his position on transferring ownership of American public lands to the state.
Gianforte’s response left me and a lot of other Montanans cold. What will become of our public lands and outdoor way of life should he become our next governor?
“I am opposed to deed transfer at this time,” he said, “because I don’t think it’s attainable.” Using rhetoric that echoes lands transfer zealot Montana State Sen. Jennifer Fielder, he then ran through a laundry list of complaints about Amer- ican public lands to support an argu- ment for why he’d rather see these lands managed by the state or some other local entity.
He may never explicitly call for the transfer and sale of our public land. But, Gianforte has, in this interview and elsewhere, established a record that leads me to believe he would, if elected, pursue transferring and selling public lands if the political winds give him the chance to do so.
Consider his selection of a running mate.
When Gianforte introduced Phillips County Commissioner Lesley Robin- son, she didn’t explicitly endorse lands transfer, but did express support for more state management. Her back- ground indicates a more extremist position. Robinson is vice-chair of the National Association of Counties Pub- lic Lands Steering Committee, which recently listed public land management reform, including “support of the trans- fer of some federal lands to states,” as one of their top priorities.
In the Chronicle interview, Gianforte veered from lauding state management to supporting a half-baked proposal for projects that would have county com- missioners or “some new commission” manage “federally-deeded lands.”
This might sound good to followers of Cliven and Ammon Bundy, but “local management” of American public lands is simply an unworkable idea that would put Montana’s taxpayers on the hook for ghting res on an additional 27 million acres of public lands – at a cost of more than $100 million in dry years. It would also come with many other costs that would, when added up, force the state to sell our public lands to the highest bid- der and prioritize resource extraction over public access on the public lands that remained.
Judging by Gianforte’s nancial
support of the Property and Envi- ronment Research Center, this could be what he has in mind. A think-tank backed handsomely by the fossil fuel industry (including the Koch brothers), PERC has a long history of advocating for the privatization and industrializa- tion of public lands, going so far as to o er “a blueprint for auctioning o all public lands over 20 to 40 years.”
For the good of Big Sky Country, Gianforte should listen to the major- ity of Montanans – nearly 60 percent, according to a recently Colorado College poll – who oppose the idea of transfer- ring American public lands to individ- ual states. He should also consider that public lands in Montana generate $6 bil- lion annually, including $403 million in tax revenue, and account for 64,000 jobs across the state. More importantly, pub- lic lands provide the outdoor way of life that de nes who we are as Montanans.
The Republican Party of Montana, which passed a resolution in 2014 to “support granting federally managed public lands to the states,” would also do well to remember what public lands mean to Montanans.
This year, let’s make sure we elect candidates who honor, and will unequiv- ocally support retention of our public lands and the gifts they provide. After all, our American lands are the birth- right of every American, and nowhere is this proud heritage stronger than in Montana.
Bill Cunningham Choteau
Update on the CSKT Water Compact
The Flathead Joint Board of Control (FJBC) for the 128,242-acre irrigation project on the Confederated Salish and Kootenai (CSKT) Reservation led suit against the State of Montana to void the vote on the water compact. The suit is based upon language in the compact concerning waivers of Immunity. Law- suits were expected because hearings revealed potential constitutional and state law violations. Therefore language was placed in the compact to exempt the state and other entities from hav- ing to pay damages, costs and attorney fees resulting from implementing the compact.
Article 2 Sec. 18 of the Montana Con- stitution states: “The state, counties, cities, towns and all other local govern- mental entities shall have no immu- nity from suit for injury to a person or property, except as may be speci cally provided by law by a two-third vote of each house of the legislature.” The vote on the compact in the House was 53 to 47, passed by just 3 votes. Depriving cit- izens of the right to legally protect their
property is a very serious issue and therefore requires a super majority vote. The State of Montana through the Attorney General’s O ce led a motion to dismiss the FJBC lawsuit. One of the main arguments o ered by the State was that the state was not implementing the compact even though it had authorized $3,000,000 and spent money toward that end. In his decision, Judge Manley wrote, “that argument raises the real- world situation of the State going for- ward with costly implementation, and an inde nite period of uncertainty for Plainti s and other water users, absent Court determination of these and other issues.” Because of this and other rea- sons the state’s motion to dismiss was denied. If there is a positive decision for FJBC on the lawsuit, the state may appeal the decision to the Montana Supreme Court. It’s di cult to ght
your government.
Why do Gov. Steve Bullock and Attor-
ney General Tim Fox support a compact that costs $55 million and adversely a ects 300,000 people in 11 counties in Western Montana? It can’t be the CSKT threat of ling 10,000 water claims all over the State of Montana because this threat has no basis. The Hell Gate Treaty is used, but it does not mention water rights and actually forbids activity that would depreciate o -reservation prop- erty. Article VIII states: “The Confed- erated Tribes of Indians acknowledge their dependence upon the Government of the United States, and promise to be friendly with all citizens thereof, and pledge themselves to commit no depre- dations upon the property of such citi- zens.” O reservation water rights are a blatant violation of article VIII because it depreciates the value of land because of the uncertainty of not having water.
Legislators from eastern Montana who supported the compact to avoid the threat of the tribe ling 10,000 water claims now have the “war on coal” and the tribe led those water claims all over the state anyway. It’s not clear whether Steve Bullock and Tim Fox will ght for Montana citizens against this tribal or federal government overreach.
Verdell Jackson Former state senator, Flathead County
CORRECTION
A March 23 Beacon story, “Presiden- tial Perspective,” incorrectly identi ed political strategist Barrett Kaiser’s role in U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s 2012 reelec- tion campaign. Kaiser did not manage Tester’s campaign, but rather worked independently to mobilize third-party groups in an unprecedented indepen- dent expenditure campaign.
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LETTERS
Tell us what you think. To submit a letter, please e-mail your submission to editor@ atheadbeacon.com. Please keep your letter to 300 words or less. The Flathead Beacon reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity and to prevent libel. Letters must include the writer’s rst and last name, phone number and address for veri cation purposes. Only the name and hometown of the writer will be printed. To mail a letter, please send to 17 Main Street, Kalispell, MT 59901.
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MARCH 30, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM